8. Watch the Watch

On a similar note to my last post with Google Glass, Apple is also trying to innovate and do something new. Apple has begun its initial phase of the iWatch. Just like earlier mentioned, I believe that this move towards the iWatch is to move away from the fierce battle that is currently ongoing in the smartphone market space. The iWatch also functions as a smartphone as it is designed to be a wrist sized companion to the smartphone. The watch market is huge, and bringing this 'smart' element to a watch is never done before. However, just like the google glass, its uses may be good, but whether consumers will purchase such items is a totally different issue. While the concept of the iWatch is great and novel, a lot remains to be seen when further developments take place and we should definitely keep watch on the watch.

7. Is the Glass shattered?

There has been a recent hype about Google glass, and videos of it are on youtube. The technology itself and the idea is really unique and refreshing, resulting in huge amounts of patents involved in the process of making this product. Despite this huge step that Google has taken, its success have yet to be seen. The design of the glass might not be appealing for now, as it just makes people look weird, but this might be changed in future. Since design and usefulness are things that consumers care about, it is really hard to say how well received the glass will be. It will definitely be interesting to see how Google will change the design, to fit consumers' wants. Developing the glass is definitely a strategic choice which Google has made. With the smartphone market still growing, but with many battles among different companies, Google will be the first to enter the glasses space. This will then promote Google's name and might even allow them to compete better in their smartphone market. The risks are high, but the returns are also high. Whether or not the Glass is shattered or shatters remains to be seen.

6. Patents Across Borders

I have always heard about the different patent litigations around the world, between the same companies like Apple and Google. However, I have never connected the dots and realized that patents are not international but are only applicable within the country it was applied in. This fact was really shocking to me, as I felt that it was counterproductive for a firm that is international to file the same patent in every single country in the world. To me, no one in the world should be copying the inventor's ideas. I was really puzzled by the fact that inventors are alright with the fact that someone else in another part of the world will be able to copy their idea until I learnt that not every country has the right market and circumstances to use the product the same way. These differences can then prevent others from effectively stealing the idea. Having said this, I feel that there are still loopholes in this, and these will provide opportunities for people to 'copy' ideas from overseas and implement them in their 'home' country as their own idea instead.

5. Enemy or Friend?

As I talked about in my previous post, Apple is winning battles against Samsung, but not the war. A recent article I read talked about the love-hate relationship between them, and suggested that maybe cooperating with each other might be the right way to go, and I think that might not be a bad idea after all. Apple hates Samsung as a competitor in the smartphone industry, but needs it as its supplier. Samsung then has this 'bargaining' chip until Apple has another alternative of supplier. From this angle, it seems like Apple is on the losing side, even if it is winning the patent battles. Overall, both are huge companies and they depend on one another to do even better. Instead of kicking the other person out of the game, why not allow both to enjoy the game together and share the enjoyment? Greed might cause the downfall of both companies if they continue to fight each other. Both will lose resources, and the winner might still be worst off because other players will be able to take advantage of the situation.

4. Intellectual Property: To Share or Not?

Most companies have Intellectual Properties(IPs) to prevent competitors from 'eating' them out. They have IPs to grow their company in ways which their competitors cannot. However, on the flip side, growing by preventing others from gaining access is not the only solution. There is a possibility of sharing, where everyone who cooperates are better off, like the situation of a prisoner's dilemma. Many companies are built on the idea of sharing, and it is interesting to see how the idea of sharing has helped to grow the company. Facebook is a great example where people share their information and everyone is better off with more knowledge because of better connectivity. Could we then somehow incorporate sharing into the equation? IPs, although essential to protect investors, are just means that hinder development and growth of the world by restricting complete access to information. Overcoming this prisoner's dilemma is then key to improving the world.

3. Winning a Battle, Losing a War

Most people think that winning battles will automatically lead to winning the war. However, it is not always true. In fact, winning the battle but losing the war happens quite often. I recently came across an article about the battle between the two leaders in the smartphone market: Apple and Samsung. It explained how Apple was in this particular situation, where it is winning battles against Samsung, but still losing the war because of its huge sales. The article took an interesting approach by mentioning that the huge sales that Apple is getting from the iPhone is in fact causing it to lose the war. This perspective, although shocking, has some truth in it. As the article mentions, Apple is losing this war because it cannot obtain a sales ban against Samsung and a huge factor is because they have not shown that they suffered huge financial losses due to high iPhone sales. Without this ban, consumers like us will then have these two options still, causing us to be aware that Samsung is around and in the market, thus influencing our preferences and future purchases. It seems like Apple has to take a different approach to eliminate its main competitor.

2. Learning: Class or Pass?

As mentioned in my introduction, I am a person that really likes to see and experience new things. This has led me to explore the various courses that Berkeley has to offer me during my last semester, especially with the luxury of time as a senior. After searching for potential classes, I then had my internal debate of whether I should take classes to learn more things or if I should give those classes a pass and enjoy my free time. Patent Engineering then stood out to me because of the entrepreneurship nature of the course, and also because I know that I will be reading up on it even in my free time. Entrepreneurship is something that always interested me, because entrepreneurs always come up with new ideas. It then made me wonder how these entrepreneurs are able to prevent other more established competitors from 'eating' them out by them imitating what these startups are going to do. I then felt that Patent Engineering might answer those questions I have, and provide me the foundation to have a startup of my own in future. In the duration of the course, I do hope that I will be able to discover the usefulness of patents, learn the process of obtaining one, and also learn strategies to manage competitors in the absence of any patents.

1. Me, Myself, I

My name is Jerel, and I am currently doing my last semester of my undergraduate degree in Economics at UC Berkeley. I was born and raised in Singapore, and only came to the States for my college education. Since then, I have really enjoyed my time in the Bay Area. and am intending to remain here for work after graduating. An interesting fact about myself is that I was in the air force prior to college, and I was part of two rescue missions. 

I really love seeing new things as they always make my day. Each time I encounter something interesting and new, I feel happy that I am surrounded by brilliant people who are able to think creatively and come up with something amazing. Traveling around the world has contributed hugely to satisfy this interest of mine, and I definitely encourage all of you to experience the world as well if you have the opportunity.